Dreamscapes Travel & Lifestyle Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dreamscapes.ca/i/821088
DREAMSCAPES SPRING/SUMMER 2017 16 With this advice, here's a guide to more great Canadian adventures this summer and fall: DISCOVER A NATIONAL PARK For starters, take a tour that delves into the bounty of the land. Merit Travel's "High- lights of Newfoundland & the Maritimes" visits Gros Morne National Park, while out west, Geckos Adventures' "Best of Canada" and Exodus Travels' "Canadian Family Dis- covery" are camping trips taking in parks such as Banff, Yoho and Jasper. The 24,000-kilometre Great Trail, a Canada-wide network of hiking, biking, water and road segments billed as the world's longest trail system, provides another popular setting for tours this year. TDA Global Cycling's "Oh, Canada! Cycling Tour" picks up the Great Trail during its three-month, 8,800-kilometre ride from Haida Gwaii to St. John's. (Riders can also book shorter trip segments starting from various Canadian locations.) TAKE A LONG WALK Walking and backpacking vacations are available from Butterfield & Robinson, Bike- Hike Adventures and Great Canadian Trails. You can also fly into inaccessible locations for the more unique experience of hiking in dramatic solitude where few have gone before. Try Tauck's "Bugaboos Adventure," featuring a guided helicopter-assisted hiking tour of the Purcell Mountains. Or consider Backroads' "Canadian Rockies Family Breakaway Heli-Hiking Tour," which uses Bobbie Burns Lodge as a base camp from which to discover Mount Nimbus and the Conrad Glacier. GO NORTH A trip to Canada's far north should be on everyone's bucket list. Book with Adven- tureSmith Explorations or Natural Habitat Adventures, two established operators that arrange tours to the "polar bear capital of the world," Churchill, Manitoba, on Hudson Bay, where the animals gather for their fall hunt. Or stay at Frontiers North's quirky Tundra Buggy Lodge. It's a caravan-style hookup of all-weather vehicles (sleeping, dining and lounging cars) parked right on the tundra, close to the bears. It's also far enough from town to guarantee unhindered views of the northern lights. Foodies can explore remote northern regions by air this June. "Flight Across the Top of Canada," co-produced by Edible Canada and Finisterra Travel, has chartered a Boeing 737 to fly guests to Whitehorse, Yellowknife, Rankin Inlet, Iqaluit and St. John's for hiking, fishing and "epic meals" by top Canadian chefs like Rob Gentile of Bar Buca in Toronto and Derek Dammann of Mon- tréal's Maison Publique. And mountain-bikers can opt for H+I Adventures' weeklong "Wild Yukon Canada" trip riding mountain trails and old mining paths near Whitehorse, Yukon. TAKE TO THE WATER This June and July, Adventure Canada cruises "The Mighty St. Lawrence" to the Gaspé Peninsula, Magdalen Islands, Cape Breton and Saint-Pierre. It's one of National Geographic Traveller's 50 Tours of a Lifetime. One Ocean Expeditions' 10-night "Canada's East Coast: Fins & Fiddles" cruises the Atlantic provinces by an ice-rated expe- dition ship, taking in national parks like Gros Morne and tiny Sable Island. As a shorter getaway, Fjord en Kayak offers two-night sea-kayaking excursions within the impressive fjords of eastern Québec, bookable on demand this summer. Or spare no expense and let award-win- ning Gray & Co. create a bespoke land- and-sea itinerary (for upwards of US$1,500 per person, per day) exploring British Columbia's Gulf Islands by float plane, boat taxi and ferry, and staying at elegant little finds like Poet's Cove Resort and Hastings House Hotel. BELOW: The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto is one of several hotels offering Canada 150-themed special deals. Ritz-Carlton CENTRE: Edible Canada and Finisterra Travel's foodie-themed flight-tour of Canada's north includes "epic meals" with appearances by top chefs preparing local specialties. Finisterra Travel BOTTOM: Go backpacking along the great natural 75-kilometre West Coast Trail through Pacific Rim National Park. Great Canadian Trails OPPOSITE: Admission to federally managed parks and attractions is free this year with the 2017 Discovery Pass. Dale Wilson/Parks Canada